Dropped $60 on a "premium" anime streaming box and it was a total scam

I got suckered into buying one of those cheap Android streaming boxes off Amazon, you know, the ones that promise 4K and all the apps. Cost me around $60 and it was supposed to be this big upgrade from my Fire Stick for watching Crunchyroll and Funimation on my old TV. Well, the thing started lagging after like two weeks, and then the remote just stopped working completely. I tried to flash a custom firmware on it (big mistake, I know) and it bricked itself into a bootloop. So now I'm back to using my laptop with an HDMI cable, which honestly works better than that piece of junk ever did. Has anyone else had luck with those cheap boxes, or am I better off just sticking to the official apps on a console or something?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxm501mo ago

Different experience here... I've had a couple of those cheap boxes and they worked fine for basic stuff. The key is knowing what you're getting into for $60. You can't expect premium performance from bargain bin hardware. The lag and remote issues usually come from overheating or just poor quality control, but mine lasted over a year before I upgraded. Bricking it with a custom firmware is more on you than the box honestly, those things are finicky if you mess with the software. Your laptop and HDMI cable method is solid and reliable, that's what I used before I got a dedicated device.

uma_wilson791mo ago

Got a similar box for my dad a couple years back... he barely touched it after the first week. The thing had this weird issue where it would randomly reboot in the middle of an episode, right at the good part too. I tried looking up fixes online and found a whole forum of people complaining about the same model, none of the workarounds helped. Ended up just getting him a Roku stick on sale and he's been happy with that for like three years now, no fussing with firmware or anything.